Unless you wear “blinders,” I am sure you already know where this is going and it pisses you off to no end. They say “The Truth Hurts.” But, THEY say a lot, don’t they? OK, just the facts ma’am, OK: This offseason, the Dodgers have added three shortstops to their systems, namely Trey Sweeney, Noah Miller, and most recently Andre Lipcius. Add in Joendry Vargas, who is now a SS, but at 6’4″ his future may not be at SS (they said the same about Seager, and he is a Seager Clone… well except that he is RH). We likely won’t see him until 2026 or 2027… at the earliest. I currently have no opinion as to whether he can stay at SS or not. He has the arm… but that arm will also play at 3B.
The plethora of SS that have been added by Andrew Friedman and Company are because they do not believe Gavin Lux is the answer at the position. Gavin Lux has one position he can play on this team and it is already manned by the best second-baseman in baseball, so he is hoping against hope that Lux has the ability to not look too bad at the position. He also has contingencies. The biggest one is Willy Adames. I know some of you are tiring of hearing this, but I have found that what irritates people the most is when you are getting close to the truth. Then they really get pissed off… especially if you are talking about something or someone they really like.
Gavin Lux has played SS – he has no experience in the outfield, but I think he could learn it and be very good there. The problems is that the Dodgers have a handfull of better options for the outfield than Lux… and you can rest assured that Mookie Betts is not moving off of 2B… shoot he did not even bring an Outfielders’ glove with him to Spring Training. I would not be surprised if Mookie does not see an inning in the outfield this year.
One fan put it this way:
“I keep seeing all over this sub & on other social media that we don’t need to sign a premium SS as we can just slide Gavin over, and it’s just very confusing to me. He has enough trouble making the throws from 2B after overcoming a borderline yips case and now people think it’s a good idea to place him at a position where the throws will be even harder ??? Not to mention his very poor arm strength (avg velo of 79.4 mph) which would rank 47th of 51 qualified shortstops. The last time we tried him there in 2021 he managed -4 OAA in 59 games…Please stop this madness. GAVIN LUX IS NOT A SHORTSTOP.“
— Annonymous
Yet, you read in The LA Times, The Athletic, Dodger Blue, and Sports Illustrated (R.I.P.) that Gavin Lux will do “just fine” at SS. Many call Lux a “Bat First SS.” That is what Seager was/is. He is not the greatest SS ever, but even though his range is limited, his bat plays way up. I call bullshit on Lux being a bat first SS. There is no comparison of Lux to Seager’s bat. Gavin Lux has a “nice bat” but it will not make up for his YIPS. There I said it: Lux has the YIPS. What are the YIPS? Well, first of all, you have to acknowledge that there is such a thing. Mayo Clinic defines the Yips as:
“The yips are involuntary wrist spasms that occur most commonly when golfers are trying to putt. However, the yips also can affect people who play other sports — such as cricket, darts and baseball.
— Mayo Clinic
It was once thought that the yips were always associated with performance anxiety. However, it now appears that some people have the yips due to a neurological condition affecting specific muscles. This condition is known as focal dystonia.
Changing the way you perform the affected task might help you find relief from the yips. For example, a right-handed golfer might try putting left-handed.”
Gavin Lux has (in the past) and in the current had several episodes, In 2020, he had a pretty good Spring Training. He showed off his speed, had good at-bats, and was the favorite to win the second base job. As we know, spring was cut short, and when they returned for “Summer Camp,” he came in a week late, and everything good that we saw at spring training was out the window. He struggled mightily, and it shook his confidence, and it showed. He struck out a lot and even committed unacceptable errors on easy throws.
Those errors would return when he came back up. He has had cases of the YIPS on several occasions going back to (at least) his minor league days. I have talked to players who has had the YIPS and it is terrifying. Most never fully get over it and they are just waiting for the next episode to read it’s ugly head. I am sure that some players have beaten it, but I don’t know who. Lux needs to go to 2B where the YIPS can more easily be hidden. Now, I know that Steve Sax and Chuck Knoblach had the YIPS and somewhat surrmounted it, but not at SS. Lux just needs to go to 2B and stay there. The YIPS might go away entirely if he can just focus on his hitting.
I think Lux is a .300 hitter who will OPS in the mid .800’s and hit 15-20 HR, if he can just focus on that. I know some of you are tired of reading this and are asking “why do you keep bringing this up?” It’s very simple: This is what will prevent this team from winning a championship! You can have a “bat first SS” but you cannot have a SS with YIPS and win a Championship. End of story.
Some fans don’t want to trade Lux for Adames who only has one season of control. Yes, Adames strikes out a lot, but he also has great power and may improve under RVS and Company. At any rate, his defense is on par with Rojas and with Adames, Rojas would be redundant. Pages or Vargas power bat would play well here. The Dodgers still have Muncy, Freeman, Heyward, and Outman as LH threats. I would trade Lux for Adames and a Championship in a heartbeat. Yes, there are no guarantees, but I like the odds a lot better. Hell, I’d trade Lux and Vargas for him if forced to... and you know I like Vargas’ bat. That would be a huge overpay, but I’m trying to make a point.
BTW, the one year of Adames could turn out to be more. You all know the Dodgers could re-sign him… don’t you? OK, hate on me! This ain’t going away…
Discussion (37)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Finally got an appointment to meet with an orthopedist. My knees have been bothering me for years. Bone on bone down there. I do not care who plays SS, I just want this team to win. However, I really dislike trading for rentals. That is my biggest beef against trading for Adames. But I do believe, if they decide to trade for a SS, it won’t be before the All-Star break.
Dave sure did not give Lux a vote of confidence. Several sites have reported that Lux might not be the opening day SS. Well that makes sense, gives him time to work on his issues. Rojas, Taylor or Kike could very well be there against the Padres. We will just have to wait and see. Tonight’s game was postponed, then cancelled because of the rain. Paxton looked pretty good, but that Harrison kid on the Giants has some nasty stuff.
Interesting stuff out of Dodgers camp today:
1. Buehler threw today, and looked either sharp or locked in. Depending on which synonym you prefer. He struck out four batters (he was facing a few minor-leaguers in the org) missing bats.
2. ALERT! Roberts changed tack today, noticeably. He is not longer committing to Gavin Lux being the Dodgers opening day shortstop. While the team is still confident in Lux’s defense, he also reiterated that “performance matters” & that the club will do what is best for team.
3. Rosters for the Spring Breakout game have been released. For the LAD, some prospect names:
P: Ferris, Henriquez, Karros, Kopp, Rooney, Wrobleski
IF: Albertus, Gauthier, Sweeney
OF: DePaula, George, Munoz
C: Yeiner, Lirazano, Rushing
Thanks for posting this Andrew. Should be very interesting. Ironically, the last team to see him pitch in this game and decide to sign him would be the Dodgers, but I assume there will be other scouts in attendance as well.
If I’m correct that you’ve just taken this verbatim from some place and these are not your own words, it might be nice to give credit to whomever you took it from. If I’m wrong and you’ve re-written the post, please just ignore my comment.
Trevor Bauer Joins Independent Team, Will Pitch Against Dodgers This Weekend
Free agent right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer will face his former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on Sunday, March 10.The Asian Breeze, an independent team, announced on Thursday that Bauer will participate in their upcoming game against the Dodgers this weekend.
What Is the Asian Breeze?
The Asian Breeze is a travel team whose sole purpose is to get undiscovered players in front of scouts as they take on minor leaguers in MLB organizations.
Players typically pay a fee to participate, but among those who are hoping to make the team in 2024 are former US and Japanese professionals.
In three days, they are set to take on the Dodgers at the Camelback Ranch backfields, and there will be at least one “discovered” player on display, as Bauer is joining to face his former team.
Well this is a very pleasant discovery and it ups my quality of life being able to join this community again, at least for the time being. My right shoulder ain’t working too well today so I’m just gonna say thanks Mark for your restart. Got some reading to catch up on. Again thanks.
9:05 PM ET vs Giants away in Scottsdale
Dodgers ( 10-3-1)
Giants (3-6)
SP James Paxton L
0-0 4.50 ERA 2IP 4K
SP Kyle Harrison L
1-0 2.08 ERA 4.1IP 6K
Confirmed Lineup
SS E. Hernandez R
2B Miguel Rojas R
C Will Smith R
LF T. Hernandez R
CF James Outman L
DH M. Vargas R
RF J. Heyward L
1B Kevin Padlo R
3B A. Lipcius R
58° Wind 3 mph Out
After what’s transpired so far on the field in ST, I’m leaning much closer to Mark on his evaluation of Lux.
There’s one shortstop that would be good to get that is on a low market team. I don’t think if we can get him this year. But like people say Dodgers have players to trade and this player is going to be a good shortstop. And what is it that the dodgers and Yankees do they steal talented players from teams that can’t afford them. That would be Bobby Witt Jr. From the Royals if they could get him and trade so players that would be a good plan. Or the shortstop from the Bluejays oh his dad was a good player Bichette Jr both good genes either one of those guys are up and coming players. Thats if they get on a team like the Dodgers or Yankees they will be stars.
I was just checking today’s box score and noticed that Pages was 2 for 2 – I thought he was sent down the other day.
Am I missing something?
Also, no errors buy Lux:) – did he have any chances?
Perfect timing! Just trying to inspire him!
Austin Barnes should be forced to bunt every ab!
Is it too late to get our money back?
Can’t lie I missed your blog to. Go dodgers
I’m not sure if people discuss Will Smith’s extension as much as they do discuss the silly notion of him switching positions, but on the subject of extensions the Athletic takes a stab ($$$$) The suppose 5 years with a come of $82.5M, ($20M for his ’24 & ’25 arb years). Not sure if Smith goes for much lower than Realmuto, but it’s interesting.
https://theathletic.com/5319765/2024/03/06/mlb-extensions-bo-bichette-kyle-tucker/?source=user_shared_article
ALSO
Roberts said that Daniel Hudson will be in the bullpen. His opt-out date is March 15.
Dodgers will need to clear another 40-man spot. Another trade for prospect? My first thought was Frasso to the 60, but somebody on X said that has a negative impact on team control. Can someone help me out with that?
FINALLY
Pipeline updated its Dodgers top 30 today:
https://www.mlb.com/prospects/dodgers/
Of the list: Kendall George and Frasso seem high, and the player with one of my favorite names lands at 24.
Someone at TrueBlue did this and it’s awesome! They broke the list by ages. H/T to the person, 68elcamino427
AGE
17 / SS / Emil Morales (Rank 19)
17 / RHP / Jesus Tillero (30)
18 / SS /Joendry Vargas (13)
18 / OF / Eduardo Quintero (20)
18 / OF / Josue De Paula (4)
19 / OF / Zyhir Hope (21)
19 / OF / Kendall George (12)
19 / INF / Alexander Alburtis (24)
19 / OF / Samuel Munoz (25)
19 / RHP / Payton Martin (11)
19 / RHP / Hyun-Seok Jang (18)
20 / LHP / Jackson Ferris (8)
20 / C/1B / Thayron Liranzo (10)
21 / SS/2B / Noah Miller (27)
21 / C/2B / Yenier Frenandez (28)
21 / LHP / Ronan Kopp (17)
21 / LHP / Maddux Bruns (15)
22 / 3B / Jake Geloff (23)
22 / C / Diego Cartaya (9)
23 / C / Dalton Rushing (1)
23 / OF / Jose Ramos (29)
23 / OF / Andy Pages (3)
23 / LHP / Justin Wrobleski (16)
23 / SS / Trey Sweeny (22)
24 / INF/OF / Ausitn Gauthier (26)
25 / RHP / Nick Frasso (2)
25 / RHP / Gavin Stone (6)
25 / RHP / River Ryan (5)
25 / RHP / Kyle Hurt (7)
26 / RHP / Landon Knack (15)
3:05 PM ET vs White Sox at Glendale
Dodgers (9-3-1-0)
White Sox 4-8)
SP Y. Yamamoto R
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Michael Kopech R
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
DH S. Ohtani L
1B F. Freeman L
LF Chris Taylor R
3B Max Muncy L
CF James Outman L
SS Gavin Lux L
C A. Barnes R
RF Andy Pages R
73° Wind 6 mph R-L
We should all should give Lux a fair chance at shortstop. He has put in a lot of hard work in the off season coming off that horrific leg injury. As I have stated many times in the past on this site , the Dodger brass is smarter than all of us here, and will make the right move if necessary. We could all state our opinions,but it doesn’t mean a dam thing in the scheme of things.
Garvey will face Schiff for the vacated Senate seat in November. Good for Garv, but his chances of winning are slim.
When I look at a ballplayer, I do look at their stats, but stats are just a history lesson. What happens in the past is history. What happens in the future is a mystery. The odds are, a player will do one of two things in the future:
1. They will be the same;
2. They will be worse; or
3. They will be better.
FV (Future Value) is what every talent evaluator tries to determine. The Dodgers have been very successful at resurrecting some player’s careers, such as CT3, JDM, Max Muncy, et al. It doesn’t always work! Sometimes it is due to injury (Peralta) or sometimes, what they are preaching does not resonate.
I do not look at Willy Adames and say, “Yes, I want that guy who had an OPS+ of 95 last year or has a career OPS+” of 107. I say, “I want that guy who OPSed .866 in the second half of 2021 and had an OPS+ of 133 during that time. How do we get that guy?”
To me, not having a long-term deal is a good thing. If he can’t be that .800 OPS guy, then don’t sign him or sign him on the cheap. No risk = No reward.
Just because he has only put up .866 OPS once, doesn’t mean he can’t do it again. OTOH, it shows he is capable. I think RVS and Co. can get the max out of Willy and I do believe he is a better SS right about now because he is 7 years younger than Rojas. That’s why I would roll the dice on Adames. The future is different from history. Sometimes it does repeat itself, but sometimes not!
I know for a fact that the Dodgers like Adames.
The Dodgers had the game’s second most productive offense in ’23 with light-hitting Miguel Rojas as the full-time SS, right? Only the Braves outscored the Dodgers.
Rojas is now a year older, so he may not be quite as good. But the Dodgers upgraded significantly by replacing a very good JD Martinez with HOF-bound Shohei, and the mediocre David Peralta with Teoscar Hernandez. Not only do these guys add power to the lineup but also plenty of speed.
Even if Rojas is the SS, the Dodgers should score a lot more runs in ’24 than they did in ’23.
So I’m not too worried about seeing what Lux can do. If he proves unworthy, the Dodgers could go after Adames or someone else at midseason, or simply play Rojas.
Or Chris Taylor. Or maybe Sweeney if he seems ready.
Hey, any word on where JD Martinez might be signing?
Worried about shortstop yes and will Muncy hold up all year long. But look around at third baseman and shortstop possible trades. I guess Cleveland would make sense with Ramirez 3B and is thee shortstop Jimenez as a possibilty. The pirates have two good young players in 3b and Shortstop but there trying to build a ball club. Hmmm Muncy and Lux to where. Thera not really a team that’s like wow I want those guys but the Cleveland guys maybe. And that team could use two guys like Muncy and Lux to go with the young guys they have.
lol Haley got Trumped.
Offense sputtering, get rid of these guys! Braves signed an outfielder with a great name for a ballplayer: Skye Bolt.
8:05 PM ET vs Angels at Glendale
Angels (7-3)
Dodgers (9-2-1)
SP Chase Silseth R
1-0 .00 ERA 2IP 1K
SP Bobby Miller R
0-0 4.50 ERA 2IP 1K
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
DH S. Ohtani L
1B F. Freeman L
LF T. Hernandez R
3B Max Muncy L
RF J. Heyward L
CF E. Hernandez R
SS Miguel Rojas R
C A. Barnes R
74° Wind 6 mph Out
I might have a post in jail. If not, then posting from mobile might have some issues on the reboot of this site.
BTW, what I do like about Jeff’s site from a technical perspective is the text editor features like italic, bold, etc. It’d be nice if we had those here.
I haven’t looked, but could the Dodgers minor league teams have piss poor SS and could AF added these SS for future trade(s)? AF playing chess while others are playing checkers?
No to Adames.
LOL
I read the headline, ‘What’s With All the Shorstops,?” and I immediately told myself, ‘Oh boy! Mark’s about to go on a Lux diatribe.”
You didn’t disappoint. That poor dead horse! It can’t catch a break with all that non-stop beating.
Although, I will say the Focal Dystonia bit was actually interesting. I learned something.
Adames is an elite defender. Although he hits jacks, his wRC+ is barely above average.
The Dodgers way is predicated on supplementing expensive stars with younger, more controllable players. Lux is still young and controllable and has a really high offensive ceiling … as in a Future Value score of 70, which is elite.
The Dodgers could try to trade Lux in a package for Adames, but that would run counter to the way Friedman operates.
My humble opinion is very simple. I propose trying a player out first with enough of a sample size to make an informed assessment before we make rash judgments like “he can’t play SS!’ … or “He’s a very special hitter (Vargas)” … or “he’s a 5th outfielder.”
If Lux has troubles that drag well into the 2nd half of the season, then the Dodgers can always pivot.
I am a big fan of Gavin Lux, but I acknowledge that he may struggle at SS defensively. Let’s see how the spring training evolves and probably the first months of the season. The Dodgers already have alternatives at SS on the roster with Rojas, Taylor, and Kike, so I see no need to trade at this point for another SS. Adames is Mark’s favorite target, but he is not much better than Rojas, Taylor or Kike when you consider his recent hitting and cost.
Adames hit 217 last year with an OBP of 310 and OPS of 717. The prior year he hit 238 with only a 298 OBP and 756 OPS. Sure he has HR power, but Rojas actually had a better batting average last year and is probably a better fielder. Plus Adames makes $12.2 million this year which equates to over $25 million when you consider the luxury tax. For comparison, Lux makes only $1.2 million this year and has two more years of control. Adames may become a trade option later in the year if the Brewers are not contending or if recently acquired prospect Joey Ortiz develops into the future Brewers SS.
The Dodgers created this problem at SS when they let Seager leave as a free agent and did not extend him earlier in his career. They paid Mookie $365 million but did not extend Seager. They paid Bauer $42 million per year only 3 months after Seager won WS MVP instead of extending Seager. Then they paid Chris Taylor $16 million per year when Seager was a free agent. Seager is now a two time World Series MVP with 19 career postseason HR (Mookie has 4 postseason HR in his career).
Well Lux is gonna be our SS, at least up until the deadline
“…but I’m trying to make a point.”
Indeed.
It shows the perceived state of the Dodgers that the most press seems to be about Lux.
While my Dodger bias is for Lux to succeed, I have no insight to add since I haven’t seen any of his games.
I agree with what Mark and others have stated is that he does have issues:
Are they fixable – Yes!
Will they be fixed – Who knows!
Question for Bear (or others) – when Steve Sax had his issues how many years did it take before it became a distance memory ?
For the short-term (through June-ish) I do not see the Dodgers making any moves unless Gavin absolutely falls apart.
I know Mark is advocating for Adames – but, as a non-expert watching the games I don’t think I can handle another all-or-nothing type player in the lineup.
Muncy the past couple of years has been unwatchable as has Chris Taylor – adding another bat that doesn’t move the needle in most innings does nothing for the enjoyment of the game – so I am hoping another player (if needed) is available as the season progresses.
This is a reply by old bear48 to a post about Andre Lipcius on Jeff’s websight. So maybe there are not as many ss as we thought.
Guess bear beat me to it…
“Oldbear48
Reply to Duke Not Snider
8 minutes ago
He (Andre Lipcius) hasn’t played SS since 2019. More of a utility guy.”
Lipcius hasn’t played SS since 2019 and he sure as hell isn’t the answer there either. Facebook acct hacked again, what a pain in the ass.
I could sense many panties wadding themselves as I read this Mark. Good job! Hahaha!
Those on this site they wanted to sign Lucas Giolito this is what the Red Sox got by signing him:
March 5, 2024
Initial imaging on Giolito’s right elbow showed a partial UCL tear and flexor strain, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Giolito will be examined further before any decisions are made, but season-ending surgery is a possibility. It’s brutal news for a Red Sox team that already seemed a little light on rotation depth. Giolito’s two-year, $38.5 million contract contains an opt-out after the first year, but he surely wouldn’t exercise that if he winds up requiring surgery. Worth noting is that Jordan Montgomery remains a free agent and has been heavily connected to the Red Sox.
“Changing the way you perform the affected task might help you find relief from the yips. For example, a right-handed golfer might try putting left-handed.”
— Mayo Clinic
Perhaps a possible solution is to make Gavin Lux the league’s lone left hand throwing SS. There, problem fixed (sarcasm alert).
Agreed
I think the Dodgers could make a better trade but Friedman is definitely seeking backup.